‘Tis the season for lots of candy. And chances are you just got a deluge of it in your house. Whether class parties at school, trick-or-treating around your block or a harvest festival, your child probably just received more candy than his or her little body can handle. If you are fine finding candy wrappers hidden under sofas and little people with chocolate evidence around their mouths for the next few days, go ahead and leave the filled plastic pumpkin out. (For the record I do find this a valid approach, and one I might practice at our house.)

However, if you want to help your child with some self-control, here are a few approaches to managing the Mt. Fuji of candy was likely dumped in your home:

The little bit at a time approach

Tonight, establish a set number of pieces that are allowed. Then in the morning a piece a day, or per meal, until the candy runs out. My mom used to do what her mom did, put it all in a big glass jar so the choices could be adequately studied before the daily piece was selected.

Benefit: Minimizing the out of control sugar highs/meltdowns, dentist bills, and tummy aches.

Drawback: Parents must also be able to practice self control if candy consumption is to be spread out. (That might take me out of this option.)

The eat it while it’s here approach

This is a hybrid between go for it and boundaries. It says, “Hey, after collecting all of your loot, feast and enjoy. Remember this as a magical night in your childhood when you could eat as much candy as you wanted. And in the morning it will be gone.”

Variations on this include the Halloween Fairy who takes it all and leaves a gift as payment. Of course we know this actually means a secret stash for moms’ and dads’ late night KitKat hankerings (just make sure you have a good hiding spot for it).

Benefit: Fun for your kids and you to have a night of simply celebrating and indulging.

Drawback: Potential stomach aches.

The sharing is good approach

Pass the candy on to someone else (unless it’s a fellow mom trying to figure out what SHE is going to do with her candy). Finding a place that would like a refill stash for their candy bowl shouldn’t be hard to do. Take it to your office, your local crisis pregnancy center or send it on to a military service person stationed overseas. They always like a little taste of home and you can feel good about sending it on.

Benefit: The candy is out of your house and with someone who actually WANTS it around. It has teaching potential for kids on the practice of sharing.

Drawback: A little bit of effort required to move the sweets on. There may be some tears (or screams) involved from the tiny ones at home.

How do you manage the annual candy takeover at your house? Seriously, we want to know.

Share your thoughts

My kids got to pick their 25 favorite candies and wrap each piece individually. These will go into our advent calendar for Christmas. Knowing that the candy is there waiting for them helps them get through the disappointment of not chowing down on everything at once; the remainder went to our heroes overseas.

Posted on Friday, November 8 at 8:48 pm by Prisca

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We let our kids "sell" some -or all- of their candy to us at 5 or 10 cents a piece (depending on the "desirability"). I don't mind them having a few extra bucks in their piggy banks and fewer cavities to boot!

Posted on Saturday, November 2 at 10:32 am by Aniko

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We just trick or treat on our street and not the whole neighborhood. We visit with our neighbors at each house and come home with a manageable stash of candy.

Posted on Saturday, November 2 at 9:30 am by Joy

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Our group as a whole donates all their leftover candy to a great project called "operation gratitude" we send it to all our troops saying thanks for your service and we love u! Our kids decorate cards,etc. we ask the church to also participate and send a big box overseas. The troops love it and it brightens their spirits

Posted on Saturday, November 2 at 7:53 am by Theresa

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We put all the non-chocolate candy in Operation Christmas Child boxes (OCC does not accept chocolate because it melts, but hard candy and lollipops are welcome). That takes care of about 2/3 of all the candy my 3 kids bring in. Chocolate candy is stored in glass jars and used as treats/rewards.

Posted on Friday, November 1 at 9:00 pm by Vasilisa

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All hard candies and suckers get put in Operation Christmas Child shoeboxes since they last and travel well. Chocolate type candies of all sort get unwrapped, cut into bits, and tossed together in a zip lock bag. These go in the freezer for the future when we are ready to make chocolate chip cookies. We use these in place or regular chips. Makes for delicious surprise bite cookies!

Posted on Friday, November 1 at 5:22 pm by Kelley

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My mom always put it in the freezer and then we used it to decorate gingerbread houses - which set out all of Dec. and became dusty and stale. So when she "allowed" us to eat them on Christmas Day they were just gross and unappetizing. Yes, she was a sly one. - Angela Tourney